The third and final season of this sci-fi drama (based on Stephen King's novel of the same name) begins where Season 2 ended, with Barbie (Mike Vogel) and the surviving townspeople following Melanie (Grace Victoria Cox) into the white light. However, what they thought was an escape route is not at all what it seems. Inside the Dome, Big Jim (Dean Norris), Junior (Alexander Koch) and Julia (Rachelle Lefevre) continue their conflicts while FEMA brings in therapist Christine Price (Marg Helgenberger) to help the people of Chester's Mill. But, Christine has her own agenda with deadly consequences, causing the townspeople to join forces with surprising allies. Later, all conflicts come to a dramatic head as the Dome finally comes down.

Character

EVA SINCLAIR
Eva is a beautiful, young anthropologist who has mysteriously arrived in Chester's Mill. She works for Aktaion Energy with Christine Price and together they were the first people to discover the egg. She is in a relationship with Barbie and discovers that they are expecting a child together. It's not just any child but the Kinship's Queen. Her job is it to make sure to keep the baby save at any cost even her own life.

DAWN SINCLAIR-BARBARA
Dawn is the daughter of Barbie and Eva. She is also the Queen of The Kinship. She is as beautiful as her mother but she is ruthless and doesn't mind getting her hands dirty and killing anyone that gets in her way even her own father.

Episode Guide

UNDER THE DOME aired its third and final season from June 25, 2015 to September 10, 2015 on CBS. It consists of 13 episodes. Check out the episode guide below.

Production & Reception

On October 9, 2014, the series was renewed for a third season. During a CBS press briefing in May 2015, showrunner and executive producer Neal Baer promised answers in the new season. "We will tell you why the dome came down and what it's about", with new executive producer Tim Schlattman adding, "You'll see how these puzzle pieces form a puzzle that may be different from what you thought it would be".

A month later, Baer provided some insight on the series as a whole, saying that each season has "an overarching philosophy". "The first year was faith, fear and fascism. The second year was faith vs. science. This year, it's the individual vs. the group, with the theme being the enemy within."

The third season premiered on June 25, 2015. Following information from CBS entertainment chairman Nina Tassler in August that "The Dome is coming down at the end of this season", speculation started that the third season would also be the final season, which CBS confirmed at the end of the month.

In an interview after the series finale aired on September 10, 2015, Neal Baer said he was "very happy with this ending. I feel very satisfied. We made it so there could be another [season]… but it wasn't necessary."

Baer had previously stated in an interview in October 2013 that he knew what the ending of the show would be, and that five seasons of 13 episodes would be an ideal length. Despite this, when the series ended in 2015 after only three seasons, Baer said a potential fourth season would've been a "real challenge", as the third-season finale left the show in a situation where he questioned ""Then what?" Would we do the same thing again?"

FILMING
It was confirmed on October 9, 2014 that even after extensive cuts to the state tax credits, filming would remain in the Wilmington area for the show's third season.

CRITICAL RESPONSE
In a June 2015 interview with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss season three, Neal Baer commented on the "less-than-favorable" critical reception to previous episodes. "I always feel like critics ... if they could do it better, they'd be writing the show. So bring it on! ... It's really easy to criticize, and it's really hard to develop a show." Baer also stated, "I think criticism is important, because it brings context to shows. It gives insight. ... But criticism has changed so much in the past several years because of the Internet. There are so many places, so many voices. Sometimes it feels like there's a bandwagon of sorts!" Jokingly, Baer did note that "fortunately, the audience has been pretty critic-proof in many ways."

The third season received mixed reviews. Positive reviews included Ken Tucker of Yahoo!, who wrote that "Under the Dome is certainly broadcast television's most enjoyable science-fiction/fantasy series, a summer treat that, while sometimes silly and over-the-top, is never less than energetically imaginative and aware of the history of its genre", Scott Von Doviak of The A.V. Club, who wrote that "this show is always more fun when it leans into its sci-fi elements", and Paul Dailly of TV Fanatic, who wrote that "All things considered, this was a solid, if unspectacular return for the show". Negative reviews included Kevin Yeoman of ScreenRant, who wrote that "There is a certain joy that comes from watching something as consistently moronic as Under the Dome", and Tim Surette of TV.com, who wrote that "it takes balls to think your audience is so dumb and brain dead that you feel the need to explain the big twist in the episode that's about to happen before the episode even begins".

HOME MEDIA
Paramount Home Media Distribution and CBS Home Entertainment released the DVD and Blu-ray disc sets of the third season of UNDER THE DOME on December 8, 2015. The following special features are included: